The Fourth of July was "mayhem" at Rockland Lake and other outdoor recreational areas, and local officials are pressuring the state to ensure that Labor Day won't be equally problematic.

About 25 officials and first responders from the towns, county and state met late Wednesday afternoon at the Rockland County Fire Training Center to put together a plan of action to keep overflow crowds from jamming local streets and illegally parking.

"We all agreed to a follow up planning session to discuss and organize a revised operational plan involving all local partners," State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation spokesman Randy Simons said in an email.

Park officials who were at the meeting did not attend a press conference held after the meeting.

Pre-planning

"You can mitigate so many problems by planning properly," County Executive Ed Day said after the meeting.

A pre-planning meeting with park officials and local and state agencies, including law enforcement, is supposed to take place within the next couple of weeks, according to Day and Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann.

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The entrance to main parking lot at Rockland Lake State Park in Congers on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)

Rockland Lake State Park is entirely within Clarkstown's borders but falls under the state parks department's jurisdiction.

"I think they are also going to try to better manage access to the park, how they're monitoring people coming in and out of the park and how they're going to be directing people to overflow parking within the park so that we'll never have this situation again," Hoehmann said after the meeting.

He added that he was especially pleased that the parks department had committed to pre-planning for the entire season, and not just Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends.

Day said pre-planning will also include how to best coordinate with the different agencies and utilize resources.

"Once we have everybody on the same proverbial page, the issues that you are going to have to address with lesser people can be assuaged," he said.

Enforcement

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Cars parked in the main parking lot at Rockland Lake State Park in Congers on Saturday, July 21, 2018. (Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)

"We're going to make it very clear in a cooperative way with the state that there will be zero tolerance for violations of the law or regulations," Day said. "The only way this is going to stop is enforcement."

This includes ensuring no alcohol is allowed in state parks and towing cars that park illegally on the side of town and county roads.

"If people start parking there, they will be towed," he added.

Day said there were 11 state park police officers in the Rockland Lake area on July 4, and Hoehmann said Clarkstown police had an additional five officers assisting with traffic.

Whether there will be an increase in law enforcement is up to the state parks agencies, Day said.

Communication

One of the big issues on July 4 was a lack of communication, officials said.

Rockland Lake's north parking lot was full by 10 a.m., and while the south lot was initially opened to the public, the state Parks Department closed it mid-morning and did not reopen it until 4 p.m., Hoehmann said.

"At some point, someone made a decision to close it," he added. "They admitted to the fact that they had it opened and then they closed it. I think they're looking for better communication within their own staff."

Communicating to the public will also be critical, and officials said they will use all resources to ensure people know when a park is full, including roadside message boards, temporary signs, social media, phone applications and official websites.